A Work in Progress
by ChaosDemon1129
Summary: Cardin Winchester was a typical school bully, always picking on those weaker than him and generally being an all around jerk. But one fateful day in the forest of Forever Fall changed him forever. Join CRDL as they try to become better people and go on an adventure of a lifetime. Cardin redemption fic, eventual CardinxVelvet.
1. Chapter 1

**RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, both of which I am not.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Cardin Winchester couldn't believe his eyes as he saw Jaune, Jaune Arc, the wimp Cardin had bullied since the beginning of the school year, behead an Ursa Major. With just one strike. The body collapsed to the side as the head hit the ground, and Jaune sheathed his sword, puffing out his chest in pride at defeating such a foe, despite his beat up face. He turned to where Cardin was laying on the forest floor and helped him up.

"Holy crap. Jaune?" Cardin asked, unsure if this was a dream or not. Jaune quickly pulled him closer, not letting go of him.

"Don't mess with my team, my _friends_, ever again. Got it?" The blonde said, an unspoken threat hanging in the air between them. Cardin, despite being taller than Jaune, couldn't help but feel a little scared and meekly nodded his head. Jaune let him go and walked off, back towards the group as Cardin stood there, numb.

"Why did he save me?" Cardin murmured.

* * *

><p>A week had passed since the Forever Fall incident and Cardin lay in his bed, hands behind his head as he lounged around in a pair of sweats and a grey t-shirt. Russel Thrush, Cardin's partner and team-mate, sat in his bed across from the brunette in similar garb, cleaning his daggers.<p>

"Yo, Russel." Cardin called, lifting up his head a bit and peering over at his friend.

"Yeah?" Russel replied, not looking up from his weapons.

"Do you think we can… try to be better?" Cardin muttered the last bit, his voice dying down into a whisper.

"Can't hear you when you mumble, man." Russel said, causing Cardin to roll his eyes and sit up, clasping his hands in front of him.

"You remember Forever Fall, right?" Russel immediately froze, memories of him, Dove, and Sky abandoning Cardin to an Ursa Major that decided to show up. They spent the last three days trying to make it up to him, despite Cardin saying that he didn't care, their team leader acting strange and distant. Despite this, the three boys still felt that they had to make it up to him.

"Y-yeah?" Cardin rolled his eyes at the nervousness that rolled off of his friend.

"I already told you guys it's fine." Cardin said. "You don't need to worry."

"Yeah. We know, but we still want to make it up to you." Russel pleaded.

"Fine." Cardin said, catching Russel off guard. "To make it up to me we have to stop bullying people. We have to actually work to be Huntsmen."

"W-wait. Y-you actually mean that?" Russel stammered, surprise and, strangely, relief and hope in his eyes.

"Do you doubt me?" Cardin rumbled, going to stand up from his bed.

"N-no! I mean, this is great. Me, Dove, and Sky were just talking about asking you that!" Russel burst out, jumping up from his bed. "I gotta go tell them!" The mohawked man ran out the door, ignoring Cardin trying to yell after him. Cardin followed, but by the time he made it to the door, Russel was already gone. Cardin sighed and went to move back inside, contemplating what Russel said before dashing off. Plopping himself back down on his bed, he closed his eyes before snapping them open again, standing up from the bed and heading towards his desk.

_Might as well do some homework to start with. _He thought, taking a small stack of papers from his bag and a textbook. He sat at his desk and got to work, peering at the questions before trying his best at answering them before checking them in the book. _This is going to take a while._

* * *

><p>The door creaked open, Russel peering inside before ushering two individuals inside the quiet room. A quick glance told him that his leader was passed out at his desk, an action that confused the R in CRDL.<p>

"What's he doing?" Dove asked, walking through the door, completely ignoring the 'sneaky' Russel.

"Dove!" Russel hissed. "Quiet! Cardin's-"

"Doing homework?" Came the bewildered reply, Sky standing over the sleeping leader's shoulder.

"... What?" Dove said, before rushing to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper, Russel, abandoning all attempts of being sneaky, followed.

"Oh my Dust, is there anything wrong with him?" Sky said, panicking. "Oh God! What if he dies!"

"Relax, Sky." Dove said, placing a hand on his leader's forehead. "He's not warm."

"Oh thank Dust." Sky breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing onto his bed, ignoring Dove's muttered 'drama queen'.

"I wonder what got him to do homework?" Dove asked, pulling off his shoes before sitting on his bed.

"Before I ran out to get you guys he said that he wanted to stop bullying people and work to be Huntsmen." Russel muttered, sifting through Cardin's homework. "Maybe that's why he did work."

"Well it works out for us. We were going to ask him about that anyway." Dove muttered, falling back to lie down on his bed.

"Wait what?" Sky popped his head up, a quizzical expression on his face.

"We were going to confront him on bullying the other students and how we would quit and try another year if he refused." Russel answered, abandoning Cardin and making his way over to a small fridge they had in the corner of the room. "You were there Sky. Anyone want anything?" He asked, opening the small door and pulling out a bottle of soda.

"Do we have any orange soda left?" Sky asked, sitting up on his bed, deftly catching the bottle tossed at him.

"I'm fine." Dove muttered, eyes closed as he tried to catch some sleep.

"I'll take a soda." A tired voice mumbled as three pairs of eyes shot towards the desk.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Dove spoke first, resting back onto his bed and closing his eyes once more.

"Yeah whatever." Cardin mumbled. "Soda…" He rested his head back onto his desk, groaning a bit. "My head hurts."

"That's what you get for straining yourself." Dove piped up once again. "Your small brain can only take so much abuse."

"Jerk." Cardin grumbled, not bothering to lift his head. Russel walked over and plopped a bottle of soda next to his leader's head before patting his back.

"It's okay dude, stupidity is a common thing. No need to be in denial."

"I hate all of you." Cardin said, glaring at Russel from the corner of his eyes, still too exhausted to lift his head.

"What did I do?" Sky exclaimed, sitting up in his bed. "I was just lying there."

"He was joking Sky." Dove pointed out, sitting up on his bed to squint at his partner. "We have got to work on your concept of sarcasm." Sky replied by sticking out his tongue, glaring a bit at his teammate.

"I can still kick your butt in battle Dove." The brunette quickly glared at the blue haired male, the topic clearly a sore one.

"It's just because you have a longer reach! You and your stupid halberd." Dove exclaimed, pouting as he crossed his arms.

"He beat you in hand-to-hand combat too, Dove." Cardin pointed out, finally lifting up his head to look at his team, opening his bottle of soda in the process. Dove switched his glare from Sky to his leader.

"Says the guy who lost to Schnee." Dove grumbled, Cardin ignoring his comment in favor of laughing at his friend, Sky and Russel already in the act. Dove glared at all of them before chuckling himself, giving up on trying to talk his way out of it.

A few minutes later, the laughing died down, Sky and Russel letting out the occasional giggle. Cardin quickly finished off his drink, tossing the bottle across the room straight into the wastebasket, earning a murmured "Nice" from Dove. Cardin heaved himself up out of his chair and shuffled to his bed, collapsing on it. He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling, mentally tracing the whorls and little patterns of the paint.

"So Russel, about the thing I was talking about earlier." Cardin started, sitting up to look at his partner.

"I'm all for it. Dove and Sky too." Russel answered. "We were talking about it earlier."

"You were?" Cardin asked, turning to look at the other half of his team.

"Yup." Dove answered, shrugging. "We all agreed that we would confront you about it because what we were doing wasn't what a Huntsman is supposed to do. Huntsmen are supposed to protect the weak. Not pick on them. They're supposed to be warriors that fight back the darkness that is trying to consume the world. They're supposed to be paragons of virtue that others look up to, ones that they trust to protect them and not oppress them."

"Wow. Inspirational speech. You rip that off of someone else?" Sky remarked, dodging the pillow that Dove threw at the blue haired student.

"Shut it you. Anyway, we figured that if you refused, we would quit Beacon and try again another year." Dove shrugged again. "But apparently you already decided." Cardin nodded his head in assent, a pensive look upon his face.

"Do you guys think we can be better?" Cardin asked. "I mean, we've tormented pretty much every faunas in school and a lot of others. How are we gonna bounce back from that?" The question made the rest of Cardin's team stop and think. After a few minutes of thought, Sky spoke up.

"Maybe we could write apology notes?" Sky muttered, rubbing his temples.

"Nah. Do you know how many letters that would be? Plus, that would be pretty impersonal." Russel countered, a hand on his chin. "How about gifts?"

"Too expensive." Dove muttered. "We could just try to be nicer. If we do that it'll show everyone that we changed."

"Sounds good." Cardin said, standing up and walking over to his desk. He grabbed a spare piece of paper and a black marker. He took a few tacks and pinned the paper to the wall. He quickly uncapped the marker and scribbled something down. He took a step back and admired his work, his teammates peering around Cardin's sides to see what it was.

**GOALS!**

**BE BETTER PEOPLE!**

**BE NICER TO PEOPLE!**

**STOP BULLYING!**

**BE THE BEST DAMN HUNTSMEN ANYONE HAS SEEN EVER!**

"How's that?" Cardin asked, turning around to see his team's reaction. Russel held a thumbs up, Sky nodded vigorously with a huge smile, and Dove just nodded with a small smile on his face.

"I love it!" Sky yelled, jumping into the air.

"It seems fine." Dove mumbled, clearly tired. He moved over to his bed and collapsed face first down onto it, not bothering to change out of his clothes.

"I'm gonna crash too. It's getting late." Sky yawned, prompting Cardin to glance at the clock hanging on the wall. _12:00_ _a.m._

"Wow. I didn't know it was this late." Cardin muttered, pushing himself off of his bed to shuffle over to the bathroom. "I'm gonna go take a shower. Don't wait up."

Cardin quickly grabbed his toiletries and his scroll and walked out the door, the lock clicking into place behind him. He walked down the hall, musing about his new resolve when he ran into someone, the smaller person falling to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you-" Cardin stopped himself, remembering to be nicer now. "Um... I didn't see you there, sorry." Cardin rubbed his head nervously, _did I do it right?_, and looked down at his fellow student, immediately recognizing the boy's shock of yellow hair and blue eyes. "Jaune?"

At the mention of his name, the blonde swordsman shot his head up, a bewildered, "Cardin?", leaving his mouth. Cardin stuck out his hand, to which Jaune just stared warily at. Cardin sighed and shook his hand a bit.

"Do you want to get up or not?" The slight annoyed tone prompted Jaune to let out a yelp and quickly grabbed Cardin's hand, pulling himself up with Cardin's help, despite still being wary of a trick.

"T-thanks." Jaune mumbled, eyes looking at the floor.

"No problem. You okay? That was quite a tumble." The question caught Jaune off guard and caused him to shoot his head up. _Is Cardin being… nice?_ Jaune thought, shaking his head a bit.

"U-uh, n-no. I um… Goodnight!" He finally managed to get out, rushing down the hall. Jaune quickly got to the door of his room and swiftly unlocked it. He threw open the door and flew into his bed, ignoring the questions about his odd behaviour from his partner, and shook his head again. _I'm probably just tired. _He thought, staring at the ceiling.

Cardin looked over into the direction that the blonde zoomed off into, He shook his head and made his way into the bathroom, swiftly undressing and stepping under the warm stream of water. He quickly lathered his short burnt orange hair with shampoo and moved onto to washing the rest of his body, wanting to get back to his room as soon as possible to catch some shut-eye. He rinsed off and reached a hand out to grab his towel. He dried off and wrapped the now damp cloth around his waist and exited the bathroom, making his way down the hall and opening his door with his scroll.

He walked in and immediately saw Dove passed out on his bed and Sky doodling on his face. Russel was snickering near by, but looked up when his leader entered.

"Hey Cardin." The towel clad teen waved an idle hand and grabbed his pajamas from his drawers. He walked into the small bathroom in the room and quickly got dressed, hanging up his towel to dry.

He walked out once again and laid down on his bed. Sky, finished with his small prank, shuffled over to his own bed as Russel flicked off the lights. There were a few muttered curses as Russel ran into random things as he tried to find his bed before falling quiet, indicating that he made it.

"Goodnight." Sky mumbled, already sounding tired.

"You too." A small rustling was heard as Russel adjusted in his bed.

"Night." Cardin said, closing his eyes.

"Will you all shut the hell up!" Dove angrily called, "I'm trying to sleep!" Cardin chuckled a bit before falling silent, only one thing in the forefront of his mind. Tomorrow was going to be a new day.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Hey guys and gals! ChaosDemon1129 here and coming at you with a new story! So yeah. If the title confused you I will explain. I had no idea what to call this when I was first writing it and one of my friends saw me and asked what I was doing and I said writing, he asked what, blah blah blah. ANYWAY! He asked what the title was and I said that it was a work in progress and he thought _that_ was the actual title. I corrected him and then he had to go, but then that got me thinking. If CRDL is working towards being better people, than A Work in Progress would actually make sense. And thus the story's name was born! So yeah. Anyways, I'll try to update this once a week, but I'm not good with deadlines and am a huge procrastinator. And this is when I bid you all adieu! Please Review, Favorite, and Follow because all of that motivates me!**

**I will see all of you later!**


	2. Chapter 2

****RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, both of whom I am not.****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

The sun was shining brightly and the birds were singing their sweet songs outside. Dove looked out the window and took in the beautiful scene before tightly pulling the curtains shut with a firm "No" and shuffled over to his bed, collapsing on top of it and pulling the covers to his neck. Sky sighed at his friend, already up since 8:00, and walked back over to the curtains.

"C'mon Dove. It's time to wake up." Sky said, yanking the cloth away from the window and let sunlight stream into the room, a beam of light shining across his partner's eyes.

"No. It's too early." Dove groaned, shielding his eyes with a hand.

"It's noon."

"..."

"..."

"Fine." Dove grumbled, rolling off of his bed and landing on the floor with a thunk and a muffled "ow". It had been a week since the team's resolve and they had already started on their new plan, now dubbed "DA BEST PLAN EVA!" by Sky.

"C'mon, the teachers need help setting up for the Vytal festival." Sky said, tugging the unwilling brunette to his feet propelling him towards the door. "Hurry up and wash. No friend of mine is going out looking like that."

"I can do whatever the hell I feel like." Came the muttered reply. "I'm Dove 'freaking' Bronzewing."

"Mmhmm." Sky looked out the window and idly noticed something flying at it. Something that looked a lot like- "Jaune?!" The blur of yellow quickly grew and crashed into- scratch that- through the window, Sky diving to the side just in time. Dove, only just turning at the bewildered yell from his friend, was not as fortunate and got hit full in the gut, effectively slowing down the blonde. Cardin opened the door at just the right moment to get bowled over by the pair and grabbed the front of Russel's shirt to try and stop his fall. Russel, unprepared for the sudden weight, was dragged down by the panicked mace user and both fell in a heap. Dove and Jaune rolled to a stop at the far wall and laid their, groaning in pain. When Sky got up from his panicked dive, he looked at the shattered window and then at the door. He was silent for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter.

"Hahahaha! O-oh my Dust! Hahahaha! T-that was a-amazing! Hahahahaha!" Sky managed to choke out between his laughter, the force of it causing him to drop to the floor and roll around. "Hahaha! I-I c-can't b-breath!"

Cardin and Russel quickly scrambled up to their feet and looked over at Sky, then to the pair outside their door, and then laughed.

"Oh haha." Dove deadpanned, pushing the dazed blonde off of him before standing up. "Laugh it up, jerks."

"I will. Thank you very much." Sky said, turning up his nose into the air. A groan snapped the team's attention to where the blonde teen was, still where Dove dumped him.

"... Should we check on him?" Russel finally asked.

"Um… I kinda don't want to. We might anger whatever made him fly through the window." Sky shuddered. "It might happen to us."

"Dude, we're Huntsmen." Dove stated, puffing up his chest.

"In training." Russel shot back, which earned a short glare from Dove, the man just smirking at him.

"Jerk."

"Nerd."

"Stop it." Cardin commanded. "Dove's right. Even if we are just in training, we can probably still fight it!" He ended on a triumphant note, which immediately died as he heard an angry yell.

"AAAARRRCCC!" A distinctly feminine voice screamed out, startling the team and scaring Jaune out of his daze.

"W-was that Y-yang?" Russel managed to squeak out. A mute nod from Jaune was the meek answer. "T-thought so."

"I'LL FREAKING KILL YOU!" Yang roared once again, this time much closer.

"Oh my God! Run!" Jaune screamed, immediately running down the hall, CRDL right at his heels.

"What the hell did you do Arc?" Sky yelled, the five turning a sharp corner and bursting through a door, a stairwell leading downwards.

"I don't know! I was just walking and then I tripped near her and then she was trying to kill me!" Jaune screamed, something in his hand catching Cardin's eye. Cardin quickly paled and screeched to a halt, the four others noticing before stopping as well, turning to face the teen.

"Oh my Dust. Jaune. What's in your hand." Cardin said, fear clear in his voice.

"W-what do you mea- Oh no." Jaune paled significantly, looking at the long lock of golden hair clamped firmly in his palm. "I'm so dead. Oh God! CARDIN YOU GOTTA HELP ME! I DUN WANNA DIE!" He blubbered, grabbing the front of Cardin's armor.

"CALM DOWN!" Cardin roared, slapping Jaune. "WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS OR WE CAN'T CALL OURSELVES ME-"

"FOUND YOU!"

"OH MY GOD! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Cardin shrieked, running down the hall, Jaune still attached to his armor.

Jaune peered over Cardin's shoulder and nearly peed himself. Yang was sprinting towards them, thankfully not gaining any ground, but was engulfed in flames and her eyes a demonic red.

"How's it look, Jaune!" Cardin yelled. Jaune climbed back down and looked Cardin in the eye, determination etched into every line of his face.

"We are gonna die the most painful death imaginable."

"Oh God." Cardin squeaked, quickening his pace.

"Cardin! Do we take the stairs?" Dove yelled back to Cardin.

"Too slow! Go out the window!" Cardin yelled, turning to Jaune. "I need you to do something for me Jauney-boy."

"What's tha- No. We're too high up! This is like the fifth floor!" Jaune yelled.

"Jaune. You survived a Nevermore and a Deathstalker in initiation and took down an Ursa Major single-handedly. You can do this."

"... Launch me." Jaune simply said, tensing himself. Cardin nodded and grabbed his chestplate, cocking his arm back before throwing forward with all of his might, the force causing him to roll forward. He rolled back up just in time to see Jaune rocket through the window, the rest of his team following. Dove simply dove out and Sky followed. Russel turned to sit on the windowsill before tossing himself backwards. Cardin spared a glance over his shoulder, nearly wetting himself in the process, before jumping out the window to follow his companions.

Cardin hit the ground with a thump, his aura strengthening his legs and reducing the strain of landing. He straightened up and scanned the courtyard, spotting the rest of his team standing a few feet away and Jaune stuck in a tree. He shook his head, wondering what the hell he got himself into, before jogging over.

"You okay, Jaune?"

"Blurgh."

"He's fine." Dove said, looking up at him.

"So… We screwed or what?" Russel asked, turning to face Cardin.

"I don't think so. Pretty sure we lost her."

"We jumped out a window and walked literally five feet away." Dove pointed out, gesturing to the broken window above.

"She probably won't follow." Cardin said optimistically, just as a flaming comet flew out of the building and landed on the ground with incredible force, creating a small crater. "Dammit."

Yang slowly stood up from her crouch position, looking up at the five with red eyes, flames still wreathing her hair. Luckily for the boys, she didn't have her weapons on her. CRDL stared defiantly at her, Dove still in his pajamas and all the others in their combat gear, but sadly lacked their weapons.

"Think we could take her?" Russel asked, getting into a ready position.

"Nope." "Nada." "Hell no." Came the three negative replies.

"Nice to see we're on the same page." Russel wryly chuckled.

"So who's going first?" Sky asked, right before taking a fist to the face courtesy of Yang, the poor boy getting sent flying a couple of meters away.

"That answer your question?" Dove laughed.

Yang glared at the three remaining teammates, daring them to make a move. Russel eventually took a half-hearted swing at her, clearly unwilling, causing her to shoot her hands up, one grabbing his wrist and the other propelling him up and over her, lashing out with a backwards kick that caught him on the chest. He bounced off the pavement and slid away a few feet.

"Dammit!" Cardin roared, charging towards Yang, quickly sending a series of jabs and punches her way. She danced around every one of them, effortlessly side stepping and twirling to avoid all the blows. After one particularly wild swing, she ducked under his arm and sent a flurry of jabs right below where his chestplate stopped. She ended with an uppercut to his chin, the force driving him up a few inches and propelling him backwards. She sent a fiery glare at Dove. He froze before laying down, not bothering to try and fight back.

"Nope." He simply said, closing his eyes.

The young woman nodded, ignoring the former bully, before walking over to the tree that Jaune was housed in.

"Jaune." Yang growled, Jaune letting out a small squeak of fear. "Get down here."

"No!" Jaune defiantly yelled.

"Jaune!".

"NO!"

"JAUNE!"

"NO!"

"SCREW THIS!" Yang screamed, cocking her fist back before punching the tree, the force of the blow sending Jaune falling out of the tree.

"AAH!" Jaune shrieked. Cardin, still slightly dazed from Yang's attack, lunged for the blonde tackling her and effectively taking her down.

"RUN JAUNEY BOY!" Cardin yelled, desperately trying to hold down the fiery brawler. Jaune quickly scrambled to his feet, running away in a random direction. Yang finally got free and tried to pursue the fleeing swordsman, but got tackled by Dove.

"LET GO!" Yang roared, amping up her aura and causing Dove to yelp and let got, the flames burning his arms. "That's it! I'm gonna kill you! Then Arc!"

"NO!" A faint yell drifted from the direction from where Jaune fled.

Yang, distracted by the yell, turned. Dove, seeing an opening, ran for her and punched her in the side. Yang stumbled from the blow, her aura dulling the force, and spun around to face Dove.

"I'm screwed." Dove muttered, going on the offensive anyway. He sent a flurry of jabs her way, all his hits either being dodged or blocked.

"Crap crap crap crap!" Dove chanted, Yang now adding her own blows to the mix. "A little help here please!"

"Attack!" Came an answering yell. Sky joining the brawl while Russel ran to Cardin, conversing with him briefly before both went to aid their teammates.

Russel arrived first, opening with a kick that caught Yang in the stomach, causing her to stagger and giving Cardin, Dove, and Sky an opening, prompting them to press the attack.

"Why the hell are you helping Vomit boy?" Yang asked, skipping backwards to gain a small reprieve from the four. "Weren't you guys bullying him or something?"

"We decided to change, 'nuff said." Russel replied, bouncing from foot to foot.

"You guys _have _been acting weird lately." Yang muttered, diving back in for round two.

Yang sent a swift jab towards Russel, who blocked it with his arms, before throwing a powerful uppercut. Russel barely dodged and immediately slipped a bit. He used the backwards momentum and threw himself into a back handspring before dashing forwards again, lashing out with a sweeping kick aimed for Yang's shins. The blonde jumped over the appendage, but missed the punch thrown at her by Cardin and was hit in mid-air. The force of the blow sent her flying for a few meters, landing on her back and skidding a couple of feet before rolling back to her feet.

Dove and Sky rushed forward, trying to catch her off guard, and both sent a kick her way, Sky aiming for her head while Dove aimed for her feet. Yang jumped once again, feet flying past her above and below, and successfully dodged the joint attack and, once she got her feet on the ground again, lashed out with both of her fists, catching both boys in the stomach and sending both to the floor.

"Looks like I killed two birds with one stone!" Yang declared, placing one of her feet on Dove's forehead.

"That would've worked if you used one fist, not two." Dove growled, reaching up with his hands and pulling her ankle to the side, putting her off balance and dislodging her foot from his head. He lashed out with a kick that sent her sprawling on the ground and was immediately up, his aura slowly healing the ache in his stomach.

"You're good." Yang complimented, rising from the floor. She looked at him with a small bit of surprise and praise. "If you focus on your guard more you would be able to successfully block this attack.

"Wha-" Dove was cut off as a fist slammed into torso, sending the pajamaed boy flying.

"I could tutor you guys!" Yang declared, her eyes turning from red to her normal lilac. "I'm not usually doing anything during free time, usually just lounging in my room. What do you say?" She directed this last question at Cardin, the leader still wary of another attack.

"Um… S-sure?" He answered a bit hesitantly, looking around to confirm his answer with the rest of his team. "Yeah. Okay."

"Alright!" Yang declared, fist pumping the air. "I'll send you guys details on your scrolls." With that she strolled away, the four boys staring after her in confusion.

"W-what did we just agree to?" Russel asked, helping Dove up.

"Weekly versions of this with maybe just a tad bit more teaching." Sky muttered, holding his stomach.

"Oh joy." Dove snarked, wincing as his new bruises sent a wave of pain across his body.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! ChaosDemon1129 here and sending you the newest chapter of A Work in Progress! Thanks for all the feedback I got last chapter! It blew my mind! This story now has 9 reviews, 21 follows, and 5 favorites. This may not seem a whole bunch to some of you, but I was expecting maybe one or two of each. Thank you once again and I hope you like this chapter. Remember to review, follow, and favorite because that is literally the only thing that made me upload this chapter on time. See you next week!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, both of whom I am not.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Cardin sat in his geography class, trying to pay attention to the teacher, one Professor Jord, and take notes. It was a new and difficult concept for him. He usually coerced someone else do it for him, but he had given up that life. He sighed once and dragged his eyes up to the front of the room. He looked up just in time to see Professor Jord, dressed in an all brown suit with a dark blue tie, glance at him before speaking.

"Ah, Mr. Winchester, pleased to see that you want to contribute, now please, tell me what the terrain of Vacuo is." Jord said, placing his hands in his coat pockets. Cardin darted his head around, meeting his teammates eyes and getting nods of assurance in return.

"Um… The terrain is mostly… desert?" He said hesitantly, posing the last part of his answer as a question.

"Very good Mr. Winchester, it's nice to see that you're actually paying attention." With that, Professor Jord turned on his heel and walked up to his desk in long strides, opening a drawer and withdrawing a sheaf of paper. "Here is the instructions for a new project that we are doing. You and a partner will choose what country out of the four we just discussed, make a visual representation, and write a small essay about it." The noise in the room grew as the students tried to get with one of their friends. "I'm not finished. _I _will be picking your partner for this project." There was a collective groan as a large amount of the students collapsed back onto their chairs. Jord let out a small chuckle, some of the students sending short glares his way, and threw the sheaf of papers in the air, small gusts of wind blowing the papers to land on each and every students desk as he utilized his semblance.

"You will find the names of your partners on the upper right hand corner of your sheet. Get with your partners and hash out what you'll be doing. I have another matter to attend to and will be back in an hour. I fully expect you to be finished by then." With that said, the professor left the room, leaving behind a room full of teens trying to find their new partner. Cardin chuckled a bit at the chaos and rolled his eyes at the triumphant high-five between Dove and Sky as they found out that they would be working together. He glanced down at his paper and read the name placed there.

**Velvet Scarlatina.**

The name echoed in Cardin's head, forcing him to remember all the times that he had made fun of her and her heritage. He shook his head, clearing it of memories, and got up out of his seat. He used his superior height to look for her, finding her easily due to her ears, and made his way towards the back of the room.

"Hey." He called, the rabbit faunus jolting a bit before hunching down, mumbling something incoherent.

"Um. Can I sit here?" He asked uncertainly, receiving a small nod in return. "Is there any country that you want to do?" Another nod and a shaky hand pointing to an open textbook lying on the desk.

"You want to do Vacuo?" Cardin asked, peering at the landmass depicted on the pages. Nod.

_This isn't going to work out if she just refuses to talk. Dammit past self! Why were you such a douche! _Cardin inwardly lamented, trying to think of a way to get her to open up.

"Um… I like your ears?" Cardin said, the end of his sentence ending up a question. It was enough though, as Velvet sat up straighter in her seat to glance at Cardin, her cheeks a little bit rouged.

"T-thanks." Came the quiet whisper.

"So when do you want to do this project?" Cardin asked, more than a little pleased with himself.

"U-um… Do you think that we can work in the library?" Velvet asked quietly, head still turned down a bit.

"Yeah. Do you know when?"

"A-after c-class sound good?"

"Yeah."

"O-okay." The conversation devolved into awkward silence, both teens wondering what to do.

"Soooo… How's your classes?" Cardin asked, desperately thinking of a way to keep the conversation rolling.

"G-good." Velvet murmured, the conversation dying a brutal death once again, leaving Cardin to think of more ways revive it. He was still deep in thought when Velvet hesitantly tapped his arm, causing him to jump a bit in fear.

"Aah!" "Eek!" Both of them yelped a bit. "Sorry!" Velvet quickly exclaimed, shying away from the tall teen.

"It's fine! I was just thinking!" Cardin explained, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat. "What did you want?"

"I-I was wondering if you wanted to eat lunch together." Velvet said, face quickly turning red as she realized what it sounded like. "To talk about the project!" She quickly clarified, hiding her burning face in her hands.

"Um... Yeah. I'm not doing anything." Cardin said, feeling a bit disappointed, but was confused as to why that was. "Do you want to try the dining hall?"

"Let's try somewhere in Vale. The food here gets old after awhile."

"Don't we have classes?"

"Afternoon classes are cancelled due to a teacher workshop.

"..."

"..."

"Alrighty then. Vale it is."

* * *

><p>When lunch came around, Cardin immediately walked up to Velvet and asked if she was ready. After the nod of confirmation, the duo walked down the halls in the direction of the Sky Dock.<p>

"So… Do you have anywhere in mind?" Cardin asked, turning his head to glance at Velvet. The rabbit faunus was wearing a pair of jeans and a brown hoodie, obviously dressed for somewhere casual. Cardin was also wearing jeans, but had donned one of his black dress shirts.

"I know this one place that serve faunus." Velvet answered, now capable of talking to the tall teen without stammering. "The food is pretty good."

"Sounds pretty good." Cardin said, stretching his arms a bit, nodding as he passed Ozpin, who was walking in the opposite direction. "Hello, sir."

"Good afternoon to you, Mr. Winchester, Ms. Scarlatina." The silver haired man greeted. "Nice to see you're getting along with your fellow students Cardin." With that the headmaster walked off, sipping from his ever present coffee mug. The two quickly made their way to an airship, flashing their scrolls to show that they were students from Beacon, before heading inside. They both sat down on a couple of seats, staring out the window as their school got farther and the city got closer.

"What is this place called anyway?" Cardin asked, sifting in his seat to face Velvet.

"Salus." Velvet said, turning to face Cardin. "Anyways, why are you so nice now?" She said staring into his eyes.

"W-what do you mean?" Cardin stammered.

"You've been acting nicer to everyone."

"I was always nice!"

"You were an ass." Velvet stated bluntly, now standing. "I want to know what happened to make you change."

"... Curiosity killed the cat y'know."

"I'm a rabbit, your argument is invalid."

"Ugh… Fine." Cardin pouted, crossing his arms. "Y'know Jaune Arc?"

"The inept blonde?" Velvet put it bluntly once again, leaving Cardin to wonder where the shy, quiet girl went.

"He saved my life from an Ursa Major." Cardin said, Velvet's eyes widening. "It was during the trip to Forever Fall and I had… less than stellar intentions for a member of his team. A jar of sap broke on my armor and an Ursa Major showed up. My team left me and Jaune to fight it, but it had me disarmed and downed. Jaune fought it off and killed it. One swing and its head was off. It left me wondering why he didn't just leave me, y'know? I was trying to hurt his team. _I_ would have left him!" This last part had him raise his voice, self-hate clear in his voice. "I-I was left wondering why he would do that. I eventually figured out that he did it because he wants to be a Huntsman, just like the rest of us. I decided to become better." Cardin finished shrugging, tears prickling at the edges of his eyes. He was glad no one else was in this part of the ship.

"Oh." Velvet said simply, reaching out a hesitant hand to place on Cardin's arm. The teen tensed, but let it stay. They stayed like that for five more minutes, before an announcement that they would arrive in five more minutes rang out through the ship. They quickly separated, both blushing for different reasons, before heading to the door.

Cardin squinted as the sunlight hit his face, pulling out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and placing them over his eyes. He looked over at Velvet, who strategically positioned her rabbit ears to block the sun, before tapping her shoulder. She turned with a small "Hmm?"

"Where is this place anyway?" Cardin asked once he had her attention,

"Downtown area. It's a pretty small place. If you don't know what to look for you don't know where it is."

"Okay. Lead the way." They both fell into a comfortable silence, the two of them walking down the sidewalk together, Cardin cutting down of his usual strides to allow Velvet's shorter stature to keep up. They slowed to a halt in front of a rundown looking building, the plaster coming off and the windows dirty and smudged so much that you couldn't see inside of them. Velvet looked at the building with a certain mixture of fondness and sadness in them, leaving Cardin to wonder if the old structure held some sort of sentimental value to the rabbit faunus. Her next words baffled the burnt orange haired Huntsman in Training.

"Well, this is the place." Velvet said, causing her companion to stare at her oddly.

"This place? But it's a-"

"Dump?" Velvet interrupted, finishing his sentence. "I thought that too when I was first brought here. C'mon, we need to enter in through a side door." With that, Velvet led the highly confused Cardin down an alley, making him a little bit paranoid, opening a small metal door attached to the side of the building. What Cardin saw amazed him.

The first thing that hit him was the smell. It was the smell of freshly made food, and boy, did it smell good. The second thing was the appearance of the room he had walked into. The place looked like a normal restaurant, complete with lights, tables, chairs, and a kitchen. It wasn't too fancy and had a casual atmosphere. The thing that astounded Cardin though, was the people. Faunus of every different types and ages sat at the tables available, their voices lending to the homely air as they conversed while eating their food. A few of the faunus looked to the door when the two walked in, some glancing at Cardin suspiciously before spotting Velvet and softening their gaze.

"Hey Velv." A voice said, Cardin looking around before his eyes landed on a female bear faunus dressed like a waiter walked up to the duo. "My name's Robin. Welcome to Salus. Booth for two?" After an affirmative nod from Velvet, Cardin still dazed, she led them to a small booth tucked into a corner, the two sitting down opposite of one another. Robin left two menus on the table and sauntered off towards another table.

"W-what… How- What?" Cardin was at a loss for words, the seemingly magical conjuring of the restaurant making his brain short circuit. Velvet chuckled at the teen, picking up a menu off the table and perusing through the contents. Cardin decided to follow suit and looked through the menu. Settling on a beef stroganoff, Cardin put down his menu and glanced at Velvet, the girl still looking through the menu.

Cardin had never really noticed it before, but Velvet was really cute. The way her hair fell down to frame her petite face and her chocolate brown eyes. Her little button nose scrunched up as she thought of what she would eat. Her brown hoodie was a bit baggy, but didn't detract from her curves.

_Okay Cardin! That's far enough! _Cardin mentally berated, face lighting up as he snapped his menu up to attempt to hide it, Velvet glancing up at the sudden movement. She smiled at his hidden face and went back to the menu, lightly humming. Cardin froze as he heard the small noise, listening intently to the soft, sweet sound. _I bet she has a beautiful voice. _Cardin blushed even harder at that thought, completely missing Robin walking back up to the pair, raising her brow as she looked at the red-faced boy and the oblivious rabbit faunus happily humming as she perused her menu.

"So what can I get for you two?" Robin asked, deciding not to ask about Cardin's… rather interesting impression of Ruby's beloved cloak, snapping the teen out of his stupor.

"Can I have chocolate milk and the Macaroni and Cheese?" Velvet said, gesturing for Cardin to go next.

"U-um… I'll have an order of beef stroganoff and a glass of water please." Cardin stuttered slightly, lightly taking the menu from Velvet before passing both to the waitress.

"Alrighty then. They'll be out in a moment." Robin chimed, turning on her heel and marching off towards the kitchen, leaving the two to themselves.

"So…" Cardin started, dragging out the vowel. "Why does this place look so run-down from the outside."

"Well, you know how faunus aren't… treated well?" Velvet said, trying to find a way to phrase this correctly.

"I do. I was one of them…" Cardin looked down, feeling the now familiar tinge of regret and self-hatred whenever he thought about how he was before.

"Faunus run restaurants would be discriminated and wouldn't be able to run successfully. So a couple of faunus got together and bought this building and spruced up the inside and making sure it wouldn't collapse in on them. They then got together other faunus and made this little restaurant for faunus use or the occasional sympathetic human." Velvet shrugged. "I was told about this from one of my friends. I come here occasionally to study or just hangout."

"How do people know about this?" Cardin asked curiously, still thirsting for knowledge. A first, by the way.

"Usually by word of mouth." A new voice spoke up, startling Cardin and Velvet. Both of them turned and spotted a blue haired man sitting at a table alone.

"Um… Who are you?" Cardin asked, a bit shocked that he hadn't seen the before.

"I go by many names, but you can call me master." He said mysteriously before a fist came at him from behind and rocketed into the back of his head, slamming it against the table.

"Stop teasing strangers James." The new person ordered, a young teen with grey hair. He looked to be about fourteen, but acted much older. "You're scaring them."

"H-hey! What was that for?" 'James' said, rubbing his head.

"I just said. Pay attention idiot." The teen replied in a monotonous voice, turning to the confused Beacon students. "Sorry about him, we don't let him out of the house much." The man in question shot a short playful glare at the teen.

"Um… Ok?" Velvet hesitantly said, turning back to the table, sending Cardin a short confused glance and receiving a shrug in return. "So… What are we gonna do about the project?"

The conversation resumed, the duo talking about the project they were recently assigned, pausing only when their food arrived, before the topic turned into their lives at Beacon.

"So… How do you like your team?" Cardin asked, taking a mouthful of his meal.

"They're not bad. Coco is a pretty competent leader and Fox is a bit of a trouble maker. Yatsuhashi is like my big brother. I'm pretty lucky to be on a team that doesn't mind my being a faunus." Velvet said, taking a dainty bite of her pasta. "Not much else to say about them really. How about your's?"

"They're pretty good. Russel shows off, Sky is a drama queen and Dove's a sarcastic little jerk." Cardin said this with a tiny bit of fondness in his voice. "But I wouldn't trade them for anyone else." Velvet smiled at the teen, still trying to get over his seemingly out of nowhere decision to change. The conversation was soon replaced with a comfortable silence as the two finished their meals and paid for it, courtesy of Cardin, and made their way for the door.

"After you madam." Cardin said, a fake accent adorning his voice as he held open the door..

"Why thank you monsieur." Velvet giggled, pretending to curtsey a bit. They both laughed at that, walking out the door into the sun.

"We heading back to Beacon now?" Cardin asked, turning to his brunette friend. The brunette shrugged a bit and then nodded.

"I guess so. It is getting a bit late. My team might be worrying about me." Velvet muttered, eyes narrowing in thought. "Yeah. Let's go!" Velvet bounced in place before jauntily walking towards the airship docks, Cardin following behind at a more subdued paced. He chuckled a bit at her antics and satisfied himself with following her with his eyes. He frowned a bit as she skidded to a halt in front of the double doors of the dock, a small piece of paper stuck to the glass. His frowned deepened a little bit and he started to jog, getting to the doors in a couple of seconds.

"Something wrong?" Cardin asked, noting Velvet's small frown. She nodded her head, still reading the slip of paper. She stepped backed and gestured for him to read it, bunny ears twitching in annoyance.

**CLOSED**

**Vale Airships will be closed down for a couple of days due to technical difficulties with our crafts. Please be patient, we have our best engineers on the case and we should be open again on Friday. Thank you for your understanding.**

**~Jason James, Manager of Vale Airships**

"... Shit." Cardin cursed, running a hand through his hair. "It's Wednesday! Come on!" Velvet glared at the paper, cheeks puffing out a bit.

"I don't like it either. I only dressed for an afternoon out, not two bloody days." Velvet sighed and suddenly spun on her heel, facing back the way they came. "Oh well. It's too late now."

"What are we gonna do now?" Cardin asked, walking up to the rabbit faunus.

"... Know any good hotels?"

* * *

><p><strong>Heyo! ChaosDemon1129 here once again and I am so very very sorry. This chapter is so late! Like, two weeks plus a day late! I hate myself. I wasn't really able to update because I had a whole bunch of schoolwork and gymnastics practice after that and my days were packed. I only recently got the chapter done, but I promise that the newest chapter will be up next week! ...probably.<strong>

**Anyways! My sister has brought up a very very good point and I now want to see it happen! What the hell is the ship name for Cardin and Velvet? I need help with this, as I have absolutely no naming ability, and I really wanna hear from you! After I get the submissions I will choose my favorite, but if I am undecided, I will hold a poll on my profile! You guys have until Chapter 5 is out for submissions about the ship name will close and I will choose! Or you. Whichever happens I will be very pleased.**

**What happens now that our favorite bunny faunus has joined the fray and what will our dynamic duo do now that they are stranded in Vale for the next two days?! I know, but you don't. Feel free to send suggestions and/or speculations on what will happen, as I enjoy seeing what you guys want to see! So please! Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow because that will make me extremely happy and will make me less likely to kill off a character out of spite! Love you all and thank you for reading! See you all next week!**


	4. Chapter 4

**RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, both of whom I am not.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

"I'm fine Yatsuhashi." Velvet spoke into her scroll, the device held up to one of her human ears. A small voice murmured something.

"Yes, I'll be safe." More speaking.

"Yes, I'll buy a toothbrush." Some more words.

"No, Cardin won't rape me." Flustered yelling was heard over the machine, causing the rabbit faunus to cringe and hold the device at arm's length.

"That's what you were insinuating! I'll be fine Yatsuhashi! Tell Coco I said hi and make sure Fox doesn't find my stash of candy! Got to go! Bye!" Velvet hung up quickly, huffing before falling backwards onto the hotel bed. Out in the hallway, Cardin was having a similar conversation, opting for a video call rather than a simple audio one.

"You okay, Cardin?" Russel asked, Dove and Sky clustered behind him.

"I'm fine guys. The airships are down 'til Friday so I won't be able to make it back to Beacon. Would you mind telling the teachers?"

"Of course we will, but enough of that!" Sky said, waving one hand flippantly before snatching the scroll from Russel and bringing it closer to his face. "More importantly, how was your date?" Cardin froze, red slowly creeping up his face, and hung up. He swiftly unlocked the door to their hotel room and stormed past a startled Velvet. He put his scroll on silent and turned it off before wrapping it up in a towel and shoving it into the nightstand next to the bed.

"Nope." He said simply, falling backwards onto the bed next to Velvet. The _only bed_ in the room. _At least it's queen sized._

'So… What was that?" Velvet asked after a short silence.

"Sky was being a prick." Cardin grunted, looking at the clock mounted on the wall. 3:30 p.m.

"Ah… Want to go out and do something?" Velvet asked, face turning a light pink.

"Anything is better than staying in this room."Cardin muttered, heaving himself out of the bed. "Have anything in mind?"

"Not really." Velvet shrugged, slipping on one of her shoes before reaching for another, Cardin already ready to go.

"Wandering it is." Cardin grumbled under his breath, still slightly peeved at Sky.

"You're not going to be all Mr. GrumpyPants throughout this, are you?"

* * *

><p>"And then Fox got his head stuck in the toilet and we had to get Professor Goodwitch to get him out." Velvet said, giggling as she recounted the scene. Cardin was in hysterics, almost falling out of the bench that they both sat in, the pair ignoring the odd looks the other people in the park were giving them.<p>

"D-did that r-really happen?" Cardin gasped, holding his sides as he laughed.

"Yeah. Fox gets into a lot of stuff." A fond smile making its way onto her face. "How about your team?"

"Oh God. The stories I could tell." Cardin said, quickly telling a story of when Dove and Sky accidentally launched themselves into the Emerald Forest. "When they got back, they were covered in grass stains and dirt, matching glares on their faces, and flatly refused to tell anyone what happened. Later, Professor Ozpin showed us some footage of them running from a herd of Boarbatusks. They were screaming their heads off." Velvet started giggling again, the image of the two fleeing from the Grimm playing in her mind.

"O-our teams should get together one day." Velvet proposed once her giggles were slightly under control. "Eat lunch or something."

"I'd like that." Cardin relaxed on the bench, a friendly silence falling over the two of them as he gazed up at the darkening sky… _Wait, darkening?_ Cardin lazily lifted up his arm and glanced at the watch strapped to his wrist. _6:33_. "Wanna get some dinner? It's getting kinda late and I'm getting a little bit hungry…" The last part was punctuated with a loud gurgle erupting from Cardin's stomach. "... Maybe a bit more than a little." Velvet giggled again, a sound that the young man started to like more and more, before Cardin got up from the bench, extending his hand.

"Why thank you, kind sir." Velvet said, accepting the hand and letting Cardin pull her up.

"Always a pleasure." Velvet fell into step beside the tall teen, quickly starting a conversation about where to eat and if they allowed faunus.

"There's a nice burger joint a little bit down the block. I've seen a couple of faunus eat there a few times and I'm pretty sure there were one or two faunus employees." Cardin said, gesturing down the road. "Sound good?" After a nod from Velvet, the duo set off, a clear purpose in their minds. After a few minutes the two arrived at the restaurant, entering the place with a blast of air conditioning hitting their face.

"Sorry! Sorry!" A voice rang out, a small red headed waiter running to the door. "The stupid AC has been on the fritz for awhile now. What can I do for you two?"

"Table for two please." Cardin said. "Is a booth open?"

"Of course!" The waiter chimed, the friendly guy leading them over to a table. He waited for the two of them to settle before asking another question. "My name is Alex and I will be your waiter for today. No what would the lovely couple like to drink?" Cardin immediately started coughing and Velvet blushed a deep red, hiding her face in her hands. "Very close friends then."

"Y-yes." Cardin managed, getting over his coughing fit. "Can I have coffee?"

"Of course! And you ma'am?" Alex asked, turning to the rabbit faunus.

"C-chocolate M-milk please." Velvet still had a heavy blush and refused to look at anyone, opting instead to look at her lap.

"Very well. It'll be out in a second!" With that energetic note, Alex spun on his heel and trotted off towards the kitchen.

"He was…" Cardin paused, searching for the word.

"Presumptuous?" Velvet offered, lifting her head.

"Yeah! That's it!" Cardin said, picking up the menu and browsing its contents. "Anything you want?"

"Triple cheeseburger with bacon." She said nonchalantly.

"...What?"

"Triple cheeseburger with bacon."

"Are you even going to be able to eat that?"

"Yeah!" Velvet said, a stubborn gleam in her eyes. "I love cheeseburgers!"

"I've… never seen you eat that much." Cardin muttered, silently choosing the cheeseburger.

"You haven't seen a lot of things." Velvet said haughtily, the waiter showing back up with their drinks.

"And here you are! Have you two figured out what you would like to eat?" Alex whipped a small notebook out of his pocket and conjured a pencil from who knows where, looking expectantly at the two.

"May I please have a triple cheeseburger?" Velvet quickly asked, shooting Cardin a playful glare.

"Of course! Fries or onion rings?"

"Fries please!"

"And you sir?"

"Can I just have a cheeseburger with fries?" Cardin sighed, fully expecting Velvet to not finish her food.

"Your food will be right out!" Alex quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

"Oh my Dust! It's like having a dog as a waiter!" Velvet muttered, rolling her eyes playfully.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone that energetic about work. I'm certainly not." Cardin said, sipping his coffee.

"Eurgh. How can you stand that stuff? Especially when it's black?" Velvet gagged, glaring suspiciously at the cup. "I can smell it from here!"

"I don't think it's that bad…" Cardin trailed off, playfully challenging the rabbit faunus.

"I do! It leaves a horrid aftertaste in my mouth and I can't get over how bitter it is no matter how much sugar and cream I put into it!" Velvet turned up her nose. "I refuse to say anything more on the matter!" Cardin chuckled, sipping his beverage once more.

"That's good, because the food's here."

"Really!" Velvet perked up, ears swiveling towards the sound of the waiter's footsteps, an action that Cardin couldn't help but call it cute.

"And here is your food! If you need anything else, just call!" The waiter disappeared once again, leaving the two to their food.

"Ooh!~" Velvet gazed at her giant burger, quickly taking off the bun and piling it with her fries, finishing with a hefty dose of ketchup.

"Are you sure you're going to eat that?" Cardin asked, doubtful once again. Velvet just scoffed, digging into her burger. Cardin shrugged and bit into his, almost letting out a moan of contentment. The lettuce was nice and crisp and the tomatoes were delicious. The meat was cooked to perfection and was still dripping with juices, not to mention the beautifully caramelized onions.

"Oh Dust~" Velvet apparently had no qualms about her level of noise and let out a loud moan, causing Cardin to blush a bright red. Velvet finished her burger in three more bites, baffling her companion.

"Wha… How?! What?" Cardin stammered, watching the last of the burger being swallowed. Velvet immediately snapped out of her burger fueled high and seemed to remember her companion, blushing a brilliant scarlet.

"I- I was hungry!" She snapped defensively, hiding her face behind her drink. Cardin quickly shook off his shock and started chuckling in amusement, causing Velvet to puff out her cheeks and glare at her friend. A large hand shot out from behind the girl, latching onto one of her rabbit ears.

"I told you it was real!" A jeering voice called out, tugging harshly on the poor faunus' ear. Cardin immediately had a short flashback, the memory depicting the two of them in almost the same circumstance.

"Ow! That hurts!" Velvet gave a yelp of pain as the person tugged harder, the movement drawing Cardin's eyes to the attacker's face. A sadistic smirk, hate-filled eyes.

"Hey!" Cardin yelled, standing straight up. "Let her go!" His voice quieted to a rumble, a warning of things to come if the man didn't halt his actions.

"What? This freak! How about no, kid. Run along now, I'm sure your parents are looking for you." The man spat, tugging more on Velvet's ear, eliciting a pained scream. Cardin immediately darted forward, snatching the man's wrist and pressing hard between the bones. The man yelled in pain and let go of Velvet's ears, trying to yank his hand away from Cardin's grip of steel.

"Let me go!" The man screamed, finally tugging his hand free, cradling it with his chest. "You little creep! Rick! John!" Two men stepped up and tried to tackle Cardin, the huntsman-in-training simply sidestepping in between the two and grabbing the collars of their shirts, throwing them back at their leader.

"You guys are worse than Jaune." Cardin insulted, the three men giving him confused glances.

* * *

><p>"ACHOO!" Jaune sneezed, rubbing his nose.<p>

"You okay, Jaune?" Pyrrha called, slight worry in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Someone's probably just talking about me."

* * *

><p>Cardin dusted his hands off on his pants, the three men in a heap in front of him, the patrons of the restaurant staring at him. "You guys are weak." Cardin muttered shaking his head. He turned and walked over to where Velvet was, the rabbit faunus sitting in a chair, her head turned towards the floor. Cardin threw a few bills of lien on the table and grabbed her hand, leading her out the door and into the streets.<p>

"You okay?" Cardin asked, pulling her into a side alley, away from prying eyes. A mute nod was all he got. "Want to go back to the hotel?" Another nod. "Okay then." Cardin grabbed her hand again and lead her out of the alleyway and towards the hotel. They passed through the lobby and swiftly made their way into the elevator. The doors slid open and they walked in, Cardin pressing the button labeled four. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Velvet broke down. Tears started streaming down her face as her body was wracked with sobs. Cardin wordlessly gathered her in his arms, the girl's face instinctively pressing against his neck as he picked her up bridal style.

He walked the short way to their hotel room's door and carefully pulled out his key card, waving it in front of the lock and pushing his way inside, closing the door behind them with a foot. He gently laid the crying faunus down on the bed, kneeling by the bed and lightly stroking her head.

"Hey." He said gently, trying not to frighten her. "You want anything?" Velvet hesitantly opened one of her eyes, a sliver of chocolate brown eyes showing.

"W-water?" Cardin nodded and placed a gentle smile on his face, hoping that the expression would make her feel better. He walked towards the bathroom and grabbed one of the disposable cups that were placed on the sink. He rinsed it and then filled it with water, making sure that it was clean. _I've never trusted these. Only ones I can use though…_ Cardin thought to himself, glaring suspiciously at the cup. _Who knows what germs are in this! _He shuddered…. Wasn't he doing something. _Oh Crap! Velvet! _Cardin briskly walked out of the bathroom, making a beeline to the vaguely Velvet shaped lump bundled under the blankets.

"Got your water, Velv." Cardin called, the lump moving a bit before the rabbit faunus poked her head out, eyes red from crying.

"Thank you." She said quietly, extending a hand from the blanket and gently grasping the cup, bringing it to her lips before taking small sips. Cardin lowered himself to sit next to her, hoping that being in the proximity of someone that she considered a friend would comfort her. However, he did not expect her to put down the cup on a near by nightstand and promptly plopped her head down into his lap. The action caused Cardin to straighten his back, his face immediately flushed a bright red.

"V-Velvet!?" She didn't reply, ignoring him in favor of adjusting her body to a better position, stretching out on the bed, but keeping her head firmly planted onto Cardin's lap. "U-um…" Cardin stuttered, Velvet's ears twitched, but she didn't reply. She nuzzled her face against his leg and stilled, her breathing becoming deeper. _Is she asleep?!_ He mentally screamed, face a vibrant cherry red. _Eh. It can't be that bad… Oh Dust… _Cardin launched himself backwards, lying on his back on the bed, the action barely causing Velvet to shift. After a few minutes of panic later, the action of moving Velvet not even crossing his mind, he decided to make the most of it and try to sleep, it was getting late anyway. Still a bit uneasy, the teen drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>School is kicking my butt.<strong>

**Sorry for not posting in awhile! School's been extremely harsh and mean. BUT I AM BACK! For this chapter. I can't promise anything of when I will update this... **

**Something has been brought to my attention! In the newest Volume of RWBY, Volume II for you people in the future, it has been said in passing that Velvet is in an upperclassman! THIS STORY IS NOW AN AU for that very small detail. Velvet and the rest of team CFVY are first years so I can keep my story the way I want it to be! Yay! AU! Because we don't have enough AUs in this fandom in the first place! That's pretty much it and I am still looking for a proper ship name for Cardin and Velvet. Send in your suggestions and I will reveal what it will be in the next chapter! The name doesn't have to be a combination of the names if you don't want to. We have White Rose, Checkmate, FreezerBurn, Ladybug, etc., etc. So send in those names! SEE YA LATER! **


	5. Chapter 5

**RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, both of whom I am not.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Velvet slowly opened her eyes, blinking her chocolate brown orbs blearily, not wanting to get up. The mattress felt a bit lumpy under her, but not unpleasantly so. _Smells nice too… Kinda like Cardin…_ She tiredly thought, still slightly in the grasp of slumber. She snuggled further into her mattress, reveling in it's soft yet firm feel and its pleasant smell. Her thoughts slowly returned to yesterday, the fun day with a new friend slowly turning into one of pain. Her heart twinged in tangent with her ears, the extra appendages still sore from their cruel handling. She remembered Cardin, her former bully, stand up for her and beat three people down, leaving them in a broken heap. She remembered heading back to their hotel, collapsing into sobs in the elevator and being carried bridal style into their room, her head pushed against Cardin's neck. His gentle caring for her, bringing her a glass of water, and, finally, her falling asleep, head firmly placed on Cardin's lap. Her faced flushed red at that, but she wasn't entirely displeased.

_Where is Cardin anyway? _She thought, a soft snore emitting from under her. She froze slowly turning her head downwards, she caught a glimpse of black fabric before gazing at a head of burnt-orange hair. She slowly became aware of a weight on her hips, his arms resting there, holding her close to him. His face was soft and vulnerable, a far cry from the angry scowl that he had on before, in the restaurant. He breathed slowly, apparently not bothered by the weight of Velvet resting on his chest. Red slowly creeped back to her face, heart pumping as she gazed at Cardin. _Oh Dust! Oh Dust! Oh Dust! _She panicked. _What do I do?!_ No answer came, whatever deity that happened to be watching them not deigning to reply. Velvet tried to push herself off of him, being careful not to wake him, but the arm encircling her waist quickly pulled her back. Cardin rolled onto his side, dragging the bunny faunus with him. She let out a small 'Eep' as she fell to the side, her head landing on the soft yet firm muscles of his arm, the offending limb had been thrown out to the side while they moved. The slumbering teen nuzzled his face against her hair, her head being pushed against his chest in the process.

_OH DUST!_ She mentally shrieked, face burning bright red. They both stayed like that for a few more minutes, Velvet's mind racing as she thought of any way to get out of the impromptu cuddle session. _What do I do! Coco would know. She's smart! She would probably take pictures though and just leave laughing. _Velvet's face fell. _I can't reach my scroll anyway._ She continued on this track of mind, her little twitching and small noises that she made accidentally waking Cardin up.

The mace-wielding teen woke to the sight of Velvet enfolded in his arms, her face a bright red.

_Velv?_ He thought tiredly. _What's she doing there? She's warm. She's like a little teddy bear_. After that thought, Cardin let out a small dopey chuckle. Velvet's head immediately shot up and her chocolate brown eyes caught Cardin's indigo ones. They both stared at each other, Cardin's mind slowly catching up to where they are. They were both on a bed. Cuddling. _On a bed!_

They both let out a startled scream at the same time, falling off opposite sides of the bed, but quickly scrambled up.

"What are you doing in my bed!" Cardin yelled, baffled as to how she got there.

"_Your _bed?" Velvet shot back. "I fell asleep first!"

"You fell asleep on my lap!"

"It was comfortable!"

"Oh! So it's _my_ fault!"

"Yes! Why do you have such a cuddly lap anyway!"

"Cuddly! I'll have you know that you are very cuddly as well! One of my first thoughts when I woke up was that you were like a teddy bear!"

"Well you smell nice!"

"You smell nicer! Like cinnamon and chocolate!"

"Well! Well! I don't know what you bloody smell like, but you smell nicer probably! And you're extremely soft!"

"Are we just screaming compliments at each other!"

"I believe so!"

"Let's never talk of this again!"

"Agreed!" Both quickly fell back onto the bed, bouncing lightly from the force. They made sure to leave a bit of room between them, not wanting a repeat of what happened earlier, but missing the blissful warmth that the other gave them. They both relaxed a bit in silence, neither willing to break it. Cardin eventually got bored and spoke up.

"Did you know that your accent gets thicker when you get angry?"

* * *

><p>Cardin sat on the bed, nursing his head, a rather large bump sprouting out of the top of it. Velvet was making use of the hotel shower, the sound of running water floating out of the bottom of the door to the bathroom. He held a damp towel to his injury courtesy of a irked Velvet, the towel coming from her as well, thrown out of the bathroom as she got ready to take a shower. The teen could hear a faint voice coming from the small room, the sound too garbled to make out the words. He sighed and fell back onto the bed, feeling the residual warmth that their bodies made.<p>

He quietly slipped under the covers, basking in the warmth that encased him. He broke out of his trance when a small giggle broke through his cave of blankets, popping his head out of his cocoon.

"You remind me of a cat." Velvet chimed, walking over and ruffling the hair on Cardin's head. He shied away from the touch and retreated back into the blankets.

"It's warm." A faint voice shot back, emanating from the depths of the fabrics.

"Go take a shower. You stink." Velvet said, Cardin emerging once again, this time with a sly smirk on his face.

"I thought you said that you like how I smell." Velvet immediately flushed red and started stammering.

"Y-you said that we wouldn't bring that up!" Cardin chuckled and ran into the bathroom, nearly slipping on the damp floor. He still had a small grin on his face as he stepped under the warm water streaming from the head of the shower.

He thought back on when he picked on the faunus in the next room over, he scowled unconsciously, angry about his actions from before. He was glad that he fixed himself, happy that he gained a new friend. She was funny and sweet, yet snarky and sarcastic when you cracked that shy shell of hers. He smiled once again, lathering his body in soap. He rinsed himself off before stepping out of the shower. He frowned as he noticed that he forgot to bring in his clothes with him, too busy teasing Velvet, and shrugged, drying himself before wrapping a towel tightly around his waist and stepping out of the bathroom.

"Hey Velv? You know where I put my cloth-" He was cut off by a pillow smacking him directly in the face. It dropped just in time to see a red-faced Velvet launching another pillow at him. Cardin acted quickly and snatched it out of the air with one hand, the other keeping his towel in place. "What are you doing!"

"Put some bloody clothes on! Have you no shame!?" Velvet quickly threw something else, this time it was Cardin's clothes. The teen just laughed at her reaction, catching his outfit and grinning widely at the rabbit faunus.

"Like what you see?"

* * *

><p>Cardin rubbed yet another bump on his head, now fully clothed and meekly following Velvet down the street, the woman refusing to look at him. He sighed and walked a bit faster, coming into step with his irked friend.<p>

"I already said that I was sorry Velv." Cardin whined, Velvet's ears twitched, but she refused to answer. "Why won't you talk to me! Velv. Velv! _Velv!_" Finally, the bunny faunus couldn't take it anymore and turned to glare at him, the full effect of the stare lost as she pouted cutely as she did so.

"I won't talk to you because you bloody flashed me!" Velvet snapped.

"I didn't flash you!" Cardin quickly defended. "I had a towel on!"

"It was only covering your crotch!"

"That's the only thing we men need to cover! We don't have breasts like you!"

"You- I- Ugh!" Velvet screamed in frustration, attracting the attention of a few passerby's, some of which muttered derogatory remarks about faunus, but quickly backed off when Cardin sent them a heated glare.

"C'mon. I had a towel!" Velvet ignored him, opting instead for stomping ahead. "Hey! Wait up!"

"No." The irked female replied, turning to glare at Cardin before spinning on her heel. She huffed a bit, quickening her pace and turning a corner, a small collision with someone else stopping her short. "Oof!" She cried, landing on her behind, her counterpart being luckier and keeping his footing.

"Oops. Sorry." A slightly familiar monotonous voice said, a hand reaching out to Velvet. "Let me help you up." It was less of a question and more of a command, causing the downed bunny faunus to immediately grasp his hand, easily being pulled up.

"Hey, Velvet!" Cardin came running up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I just wasn't watching where I was going." Velvet said, waving her hand flippantly.

"I'm fine too. No need to ask me." The voice made both Beacon students turn, looking to, and slightly down, at a grey-haired teen.

"... Weren't you with James the other day?" Cardin asked.

"I was with James in a lot of places, but if you are talking about Salus, then yes. If not, I have no idea what you are talking about and I demand a lawyer."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"... Okay?" Velvet muttered. "Well, I'm sorry for running into you."

"No problem."

"You don't talk much do you?" Cardin grumbled, causing Velvet to swat his arm.

"Don't be rude." She rebuked. "Anyways, my name is Velvet Scarlatina. This idiot-"

"Hey!" Velvet ignored him and quickly continued on with her introduction.

"- is Cardin Winchester."

"...Wilde Johannes." The teen shuffled his feet a bit, looking down at the floor. He quickly pulled up a hood that had slipped off when he collided with Velvet and immediately seemed to relax. "I'm sorry for running into you." He quickly apologized again, bowing a bit.

"It didn't hurt anyone. We're fine."

"How old are you?" Cardin burst out. "You have one of those faces. You can be, like six, or ten years ol-" The indigo eyed teen was cut off as Velvet's fist collided with the back of his head, a large bump forming quickly.

"Don't be rude!" Velvet scowled, standing over a twitching Cardin.

"I'm twelve…" Wilde pouted a bit. "I'm just short for my age. Where are you guys heading anyway?"

"We're just going to see if we can find a restaurant, why?" The rabbit faunus asked, a bit curious as to why he asked as Cardin pushed himself up from the floor.

"James told me to go out and have fun… I don't know what to do." Wilde blushed and looked down, causing Velvet to nearly squeal at his cuteness.

"You can tag along with us if you want." Cardin groaned out, rubbing his head. "How do you have a punch like _that_, but let us bully you?" The last part was directed at Velvet, the faunus suddenly blushing a bright red.

"... you guys were so tall… and scary…" Velvet muttered, scuffing the ground with her shoe.

"... I can't deny that…" Cardin rubbed his head again. "You still could have used your punches to beat us into submission though. Like Yang."

"You know Yang?" Wilde suddenly piped up, turning to Cardin.

"Yeah, she's teaching me and my team on how to fight hand to hand." Cardin rubbed his stomach, a bruise laying there as a reminder of their latest 'training session'. "How do you know her?"

"I met her in town a couple of months ago and helped her out. Now she won't leave me alone…" The last part was muttered under his breath, taking on a tone of fond exasperation rather than annoyance. "Anyway, I know a place near here that serve faunus. Decent food too." With that little tidbit of information, Wilde spun in place on his heel and started walking down the sidewalk, both of the students of Beacon making the easy decision of following him.

* * *

><p>"What's this place called anyway?" Cardin called, absentmindedly pulling a seat out for Velvet while looking around the room. "I've never seen it before… Then again, this is one of the only times I've explored Vale."<p>

"It is called Sakura No Hana. A restaurant that serves authentic Atlas cuisine." Wilde said, pulling a chair out for himself.

"Ooh. Fancy~" Velvet chimed, a waiter quickly approaching their table.

"Would you like anything to drink?" The waiter asked, baring a notebook and quickly scribbling down their orders, two glasses of water and chocolate milk.

"So why are you guys in Vale anyway? Isn't it Thursday, pretty sure that Beacon has classes from Monday through Friday." Wilde piped up, looking curiously across the booth at the two.

"There are classes still and we were just going out to get lunch yesterday, but then something happened to the air docks and now we can't go back till Friday afternoon." Cardin grumbles the last part, still a bit peeved.

"Yeah… How did you know we were from Beacon anyway, Wilde?" Velvet asked, not remembering that they ever told him.

"It isn't that hard to figure out." Wilde shrugged. "A big hulking guy and a beautiful, fit female, both looking a little off without weapons by their side." Velvet blushed a bit at the offhand comment and Cardin just grinned at the young boy.

"You're pretty perceptive for a twelve-year old." Cardin said, reaching over and ruffling his hair, and action that caused Wilde to scowl and bat at his hand. Velvet giggled at their interactions, immensely amused at the sight of a young boy trying to fight off someone three times bigger than him. They both stopped messing around when the waiter came by and dropped off their drinks.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter asked, notepad in hand once again.

"Can I have the beef teriyaki?" Cardin asked, a bit curious as to what teriyaki is.

"May I please have the chicken fried rice?" Velvet said, peering at the menu to make sure that was what she wanted.

"I would like to have the beef soba and and order of ebi please." Wilde didn't even bother to look at his menu, passing all three to the waiter. As the waiter left, the boy turned to the two once again. "Are you guys dating?"

The question caught the two off guard, Cardin in the middle of drinking his water. Velvet immediately squeaked out a frantic, "W-what?", and Cardin started choking. "I'll take that as a 'no' then." Wilde smirked, watching Cardin trying to stop his coughing fit. Velvet looked at Cardin, still blushing heavily, and started pounding on his back, drawing the attention of quite a few of the patrons of the small restaurant.

"W-what made you t-think that?" Cardin panted, finally able to stop coughing.

"I saw you both making doe eyes at each other yesterday during lunch." Wilde shrugged. "James called them bedroom-eyes." Both of the students immediately flushed red once again.

"Hey, Wilde! How are you today!" A familiar voice chimed, a pair of arms capturing the poor boy in a crushing hug. Cardin and Velvet caught sight of a familiar head of bright yellow hair as the gray haired boy was lifted out of his chair.

"Yang?"

* * *

><p><strong>I'm Back!<strong>

**Once again, I am very sorry for the extremely long wait and I promise that it might happen again. Deadlines are my Kryptonite... I've missed all of you in the days, months, years, etc. that I have been gone, but I am back and slightly stronger than ever (boy, am I dramatic...).**

**And now, the moment none of you have been waiting for! The reveal of the newest ship name for CardinXVelvet!**

**Idea submitted by Fanfiction User Bankes:**

**_Holy Bun_**

**It's beautiful. *wipes away tear***

**And now I will take this time to prostrate before you and lament about my unworthiness... There are 76 people following this fic... Seventy-Six. I squealed when I saw it, and I was in the middle of a class. I absolutely love all of you. Also there are 45 favorites and 43 reviews, both of which I am happy with, but Oh my God... Seventy-Six. And only 4 chapters out. I love you all.**

**~ChaosDemon1129**


	6. Chapter 6

**RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, both of whom I am not.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

"Hey guys!" Yang waved, freeing one hand from Wilde, the other arm still strangling him in a bear hug. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Hello." Velvet politely greeted, confused as to why the blonde brawler showed up.

"What are you doing here Yang?" Cardin sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

"Now, that's not nice. What happened to 'Hey Yang! How was your day?'" Yang grumbled the last part, unconsciously letting her arms loose, giving Wilde enough room to wiggle out of her grip.

"Yang! You almost killed me!" Wilde yelled angrily, the blonde's attention being caught by the gray haired boy.

"Aww! I would never kill you, Wilde!" Yang chirped, a shit-eating grin on her face as she grabbed the poor boy in another headlock.

"Your actions speak differently, Yang." Velvet sighed, watching Wilde's face slowly turn blue. "His face is turning the most wonderful shade of violet."

"What?!" Yang yelled, immediately grabbing Wilde by the shoulders and spinning him to face her. He gasped for breath and nodded thankfully to the rabbit faunus, a confused waiter standing nearby.

"Um… Are you going to join them, Miss?" The waiter asked Yang, the bombshell turning from the panting boy.

"Yup!" Yang grabbed a free chair and flopped down onto it, depositing Wilde in his own chair. "Can I have a cup of coffee and some chicken yakisoba, please!"

"Right away, ma'am." The waiter left again, leaving the four to talk.

"So, why are you here, Yang?" Cardin began, more cordial than last time and leaving Velvet to try and help Wilde catch his breath.

"I came out here to shop on Wednesday and got stuck here after the AirDocks broke down." Yang shrugged. "What about you guys?"

"We were going to discuss a project that was recently assigned by Professor Jord during lunch and we decided to go here. The rest you know." Velvet said, looking up and missing the vaguely guilty look on Wilde's face.

"So you guys went on a date." Yang said, a smirk on her face as Velvet turned red and Cardin choked. Again.

"That's what I said." Wilde pouted, still slightly out of breath. "They're using the same room in a hotel."

"We didn't have enough lien for a second room!" Cardin defended, Velvet turning an even deeper shade of red. "How did you know that anyway?"

"I have my ways." He replied mysteriously, spinning a pair of chopsticks in his hand. Cardin grumbled a bit, grabbing his glass of water and bringing it up to his face to try to hide his embarrassed blush behind the drink. Finally, the waiter came with their food, saving the pair from any further teasing from Yang and Wilde.

"Enjoy."

"Oh my Dust, that was some good grub." Cardin said, pushing away his, now empty, plate.

"Mine was rather good also." Velvet commented, the few small morsels on her plate quickly being eaten. "How can you guys use those things anyway?" She gestured at the pair of sticks the two had in their hands.

"My name isn't Xiao Long for nothing!"

"Practice." Wilde muttered, eyes closed as he leaned back in his chair, food finished before all the rest. "It's not that hard."

"That's what she said." Yang quickly cut in, Wilde shooting her a quick pout.

"I'm only twelve y'know."

"You're also the boss of a-" Wilde shot up out of his seat and clamped a hand over her mouth, stopping whatever she was going to say short.

"No." He firmly said, Yang struggling to get out of his grip. After a few moments she stopped struggling. "Are you… licking my hand?" There was a sound of affirmation and Wilde just sighed, before taking his hand and rubbing the young woman's saliva all over her face.

"Ggrrk! W-Wilde?!" Yang squealed, her face quickly becoming covered in her own spit. Wilde finally let her go and settled back into his chair, revealing Yang's new shiny face. Cardin passed her some napkins, trying in vain to stop his chuckles, while Velvet was stifling her giggles. "Really?!"

"Don't lick my hand." The boy replied, a vaguely pleased expression on his face as he grabbed a napkin for himself. "Anyway, I think it's time we go. Didn't you guys say something about a… amusement park?" He asked, unsure if he said it right. "I have no idea what that is." He admitted, rather guiltily.

"Don't worry!" Yang chimed, her face now clear of spit. "We'll teach you!" She patted his head, causing him to pout again.

"I'm not a child." He grumbled, causing the blonde to shoot him a smirk.

"Says the twelve year-old." Yang dodged the first jab and danced out the door, drawing odd looks from the various customers as the shorter of the duo followed.

"I guess we should go too." Velvet said, already starting to get up from her chair. Cardin nodded and stood up himself and they both walked out on the street.

"Has he really never been to an amusement park?" Cardin asked, trailing after the bickering two. "What kind of childhood did he have?" Cardin and Velvet missed Wilde tensing his shoulders, but Yang saw and quickly wrapped an arm around him, pressing him to her side.

"I haven't been either." Velvet said, shrugging her shoulders. "I used to live in a smaller town than this and they never bothered to build one, especially since the population was mostly made up of faunus."

"I've been a couple of times, I think it's pretty fun. Especially the games." Cardin continued walking forward, his arms tucked behind his head.

"Games?" Velvet rubbed the back of her head, a confused look on her face. "I thought they only had rides. Was I wrong?" Cardin immediately shook his head.

"Nope! It's true that they have rides, and that's the major reason why many people go to the parks, but I like the games more!" Cardin finished explaining, looking back to Velvet.

"Ah. So basically… you're weird, going to a place meant for one thing and doing something completely different." The young woman deadpanned, a bland face going along with it.

"Hey!" The Winchester defender, a look of extreme offense ruined by the smile twitching the corners of his lips upward. "I prefer the term _unique._"

"That's just a nicer way of saying weird."

"Says the carnivorous rabbit." Cardin teased, the statement might have been taken as a racial slur if not for the teasing smile on his face. Velvet immediately turned red.

"S-shut up! Just because I'm part rabbit doesn't mean I don't eat meat!" She finished her sentence with a punch to the arm, a pout on her face. The tall mace user just chuckled, patting her head a little bit.

"Are you guys coming?" Wilde called back to the bickering two, looking over his shoulder.

"Just let the two lovebirds be, Wilde." Yang said, a teasing tone soon enough. "They'll be popping babies out in no time."

"Y-Yang!" Velvet yelled, mortified, while Cardin just flushed scarlet.

"Why are they popping babies?" Wilde asked, scratching the top of his head. "Isn't that murder?"

"Figure of speech, Wilde." Yang explained, an understanding noise coming from Wilde, while the other two were still bright red. "At least it's not spring." Velvet squeaked and tried to hide her face behind her ears and Cardin just stopped walking, a look of extreme embarrassment frozen on his face.

"I think you broke them." Wilde walked up to Cardin and poked his face, but got no reaction. "Hmm…" He thought for a moment and got a sly smirk on his face seconds later. He stood up on the tips of his toes and leaned in to speak into the tall man's ears. "Velvet wants to go lingerie shopping with you and she wants your input." Cardin immediately sputtered out a garbled response and turned a shade darker, a small stream of blood dripping out of his nose. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Why would you say that?!" Velvet's scandalized shriek reached Wilde's ears and he turned to see her unconsciously covering her private parts, even though she still had clothes on.

"Oh. Looks like I got both of them." Wilde spoke in a monotone, a perfectly blank face on. "And here I had a great line about fuzzy handcuffs and pudding." A slightly melancholy sigh came from the young boy. "Sad days." He traded a casual fist bump with Yang, the fiery blonde having a proud grin on her face.

"I have taught you well, my young grasshopper." She intoned, looking at the blushing and stuttering pair with amusement.

"Can we go now?" Wilde asked, directing the question at the other couple. "I'm anxious to see what all the excitement is about amusement parks."

"Y-yeah." Velvet stuttered, still red and trying to figure out what the pudding would be used for. Cardin was occupied with thinking of the rabbit girl in various different underwear, but was able to give a weak nod and come to the conclusion that he needed a cold shower. The four continued their walk, ignoring the looks they got from the people around them, the crowd giving them a variety of stares from amusement, to confusion, and to anger.

"Hey boss, that's the guy." A figure from a dark alleyway whispered to another, the second towering over him by at least two heads.

"Is that so…" The second muttered darkly, staring holes into the ignorant back of a certain mace-wielder. "We'll have to do something about that, now don't we?"

"Is this it?" Wilde asked, looking up at the various rides housed in the large pavilion.

"Yup!" Yang chimed, hooking an arm around his shoulders. "What do you think?"

"… I think if I get on any of these, I'll die." He muttered, looking at a large rollercoaster, its occupants screaming in either fear or joy as they went down in a corkscrew.

"Aww. C'mon, it's not that bad."

"Oh look, someone throwing up."

"Okay, maybe a little bit-"

"Told you." Wilde quickly cut her off, a petulant glare on his face.

"-but you're not that weak, are you?"

"… Are you implying that I can't go on these rides?"

"I dunno… _chicken_." That was the last straw and Wilde quickly grabbed Yang's hand, throwing a few lien at a startled clerk.

"Four passes please." He spat, glaring at the blonde brawler, his forest green eyes dark.

"Y-yes." The poor person stuttered, grabbing the money and counting out the correct amount and handing him four bracelets. "H-here you are s-sir." Wilde nodded at the frightened man, turning to hand out the paper strips that would turn into their bracelets.

"Put these on." He demanded, handing them out to his three friends. Yang and Cardin both put them on immediately, Velvet and Wilde being left staring at the pieces of paper.

"Um… Do you… know how to put these on?" Velvet asked, nudging the boy.

"Not at all." His voice was the same monotone as always, but slight confusion was showing on his face as he stared. He was jolted out of his musings as it was snatched out of his hand before being swiftly put on his right wrist. "Yang?"

"Yup!" She chimed, popping the P. "I saw you guys looking at the… thingies." Wilde looked over and saw Cardin explaining how to use the bracelets to Velvet.

"The thingies?"

"Pfft. Like I have any idea what they're called."

"You could have said bracelets, wristbands, shackles, handcu-" Wilde was cut off as she covered his mouth with her hand.

"Okay! I get it!" Yang exclaimed. "Geez. Gimme a break." She grumbled, a smirk instantly appearing on his face.

"Where?"

"What?"

"You want a break. Arms or legs? Maybe ribs? Not the skull, Oum knows you don't have the brain cells to spare." Wilde continued listing various bones while Cardin finally finished up explaining the bracelet to Velvet.

"And that's how you do it." He patted her wrist, a new bracelet adorning it.

"Thanks! What should we do now?" She asked, peering out at all the rides and games that the amusement park had to offer.

"You choose. We could go play a game or go on a ride."

"Are you sure?" Velvet asked, suddenly a bit fearful. "What if they don't allow faunus? Or someone starts to bully me again?" The last part of the sentence was barely hearable, said in a whisper as she started to fear the worst. Only one thing went across Cardin's mind.

_Was this what I made her feel like? _He thought, a now familiar feeling of self-hate shooting through him. _Dammit Past-Cardin! Why were we such a dick?!_ Inner-Cardin was on his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face as he pounded the floor with a hand.

"Don't worry, Velv." Cardin reassured, the dramatic scene still floating around inside his head. "If anyone tries to mess with you, I'll kick their ass."

"Um… Thanks I guess." Velvet giggled a little bit, still a bit fearful.

"What's the 'I guess' for? I mean it." Cardin puffed his chest up a bit, just in time for Wilde to rocket an elbow into his side, instantly making him lose his breath.

"Are we going in or not?" Wilde said, ignoring the grumbling Huntsman-in-training next to him. Yang crept behind the boy and quickly put him into a headlock.

"Are you three done?" She whined, Wilde struggling to get out of her grasp. "I wanna go!"

"And you call me a child." Wilde finally wrung himself from her grasp, shooting a playful glare at the brawler.

"You're twelve and short." She said, a teasing smirk on her face. "I think that's allowed." She danced away from the retaliatory punch, laughing as Wilde chased her further into the park. Cardin sighed at their antics, shaking his head a bit. He looked back towards Velvet, who still looked a bit wary of the park, and, without a second thought, grabbed her hand and started to tug her after the other pair.

She blushed a bit at the contact, but allowed herself to be dragged further into the crowds, warmth radiating from their conjoined hands.

* * *

><p><strong>I'M BACK! In my grayish black jacket thingie! Missed you guys! Maybe!<strong>

**Joking. I missed you guys in the two to three week absence that I am usually doing now... I started out wanting to update once a week, but obviously that didn't work out. So expect chapters every two to three weeks! Yay! **

**Some people were confused about the ship name that I dictated last chapter, so I decided to put up my explanation here. Its name was Holy Bun. Holy because Cardin was inspired by the Cardinal that burnt Joan of Arc, who was the inspiration for Jaune, at the stake. Bun was because I call Velvet Bun Bun. Done.**

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review, follow, and favorite! Thank you!**

**~ChaosDemon1129**


End file.
